European stocks were little changed on Wednesday, as investors eyed the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated monetary policy statement, expected later in the trading session.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 eased up 0.02%, France’s CAC 40 inched 0.05% lower, while Germany’s DAX 30 added 0.10%.
Investors were awaiting the outcome of the Fed’s two-day policy meeting, due to conclude later Wednesday. The central bank was expected to announce plans to start tapering its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.
A recent series of soft economic data raised doubts over how much the U.S. central bank will reduce its stimulus program, weighing on the dollar.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale were down 1.21% and 0.09%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank slipped 0.12%.
However, among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA gained 0.78% and 1.13% respectively, while Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo advanced 0.34% and 1.05%.
Elsewhere, Siemens rallied 1.18% as it was preparing to appoint a new deputy chairman and finance chief at a supervisory board meeting on Wednesday, as the engineering company is trying to rebuild its ranks after months of upheaval.
Among earnings, Spanish retailer Inditex reported an unexpected rise in first-half profit and said sales growth has accelerated since the end of July, sending the company's stock up 0.95%.
In London, FTSE 100 dipped 0.01%, led by sharp losses in Barclays' shares.
The U.K. lender plummeted 6.18% following news it will have to refund at least 300,000 personal loan customers due to mistakes it made on their paperwork.
Meanwhile, other U.K. banks were trending higher, as the Royal Bank of Scotland eased up 0.04% and Lloyds Banking climbed 0.52%, while HSBC Holdings gained 0.58%.
Elsewhere, mining stocks were mixed. Shares in Glencore Xstrata and Rio Tinto lost 0.55% and 1.74% respectively, while Evraz and Polymetal advanced 0.80% and 1.04%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady to higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.05% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.04% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.17% increase.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on building permits and housing starts.
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